Bag feeding, opening and filling apparatus

ABSTRACT

THIS INVENTION IS DIRECTED TO APPARATUS FOR SEQUENTIALLY PACKING ITEMS IN A CHAIN OF IMBRICATED BAGS MOUNTED ON TWO STRANDS OF TAPE INCLUDING A STATIONARY SUPPORT TABLE, A TAPE PULLER, A FORCED AIR BAG OPENER, A TGRAY FOR INSERTING ARTICLES IN THE BAG, INDEXING MEANS OPERATED BY THE BAGS FOR POSITIONING THE BAGS FOR LOADING, A METHOD FOR SEQUENTIALLY LOADING SUCH A CHAIN OF BAGS, SUPPORTING THE BAGS IN THE LOADING POSITION, OPENING THE BAGS BY DIRECTING AIR STREAM OVER AND THEN INTO THE BAG, LOADING ARTICLE VIA TRAY INTO BAGS, A SPECIAL POWER SUPPLY APPARATUS FOR DRIVING THE TAPE PULLER INCLUDING AIR MOTOR, DRIVE CLUTCH AND LOCK CLUTCH, AND A CARTRIDGE EQUIPPED CHAIN OF IMBRICATED BAGS, ALL AS FURTHER DESCRIBED HEREAFTER.

Jari. T ROBERTS ET AL 3,552,090

BAG FEEDING, OPENING AND FILLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 11, 19 67 6Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

. FIG. 7-

FIG. 4

FIG. 5

FIG. 6

Inventors John T. Roberts bRa/ph L. Wing BAG-FEEDING, OPENING ANDFILLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 11, 1967 v 'G SheetS-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

Inventors John 1'. Roberts Ralph L. Wing byM Afr.

Jan, 5, 1971 J ROBERTS ETAL I 3,552,090

BAG FEEDING OPENING AND FILLING APPARATUS Filed Sept, 11, 1967 v eSheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 3

Invenfors John 1. Robert;

Ral h L. Wing by AH.

M Jan. 1971"v Y RoB -r s FITA I 3,552,090

BAG FEEDING, OPENING- ANb FILLING APPARATUS Filed Se t, 11, 1967 v i Y ssheets-sheet 4 N R. L

FIG. 8

Inventors John T. Roberts Ral h L. Wing kind W N" a 9 J. T. ROBERT E LBAG FEEDING, OPENING AND FILL'INGAPPARATUS I Filed Sept. 11, 1967 r 6Sheets-Shet 5 m o I m m R MT a m M J Ralph L. Wing b WW a Jan. 1971 4,1', R -5 ,ETTAL I 3,552,090

S BAG FEEDING, OPENING AND FILLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 11., 1967 eSheets-Sheet e I n venfors FIG. l3 q FIG. l2

John 7.. Rqberfs Ra! h L. Wing byz I fMfA".

United States Patent 3,552,090 BAG FEEDING, OPENING AND FILLINGAPPARATUS John T. Roberts, Simpsonville, and Ralph L. Wing, Greenville,S.C., assignors to W. R. Grace & Co., Duncan,

S.C., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Sept. 11, 1967, Ser. No.666,854 Int. Cl. B65b 43/12 US. Cl. 53-71 22 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE This invention is directed to apparatus for sequentiallypacking items in a chain of imbricated bags mounted on two strands oftape including a stationary support table, a tape puller, a forced airbag opener, a tray for inserting articles in the bag, indexing meansoperated by the bags for positioning the bags for loading; a method forsequentially loading such a chain of bags, supporting the bags in theloading position, opening the bags by directing air stream over and theninto the bag, loading article via tray into bags; a special power supplyapparatus for driving the tape puller including air motor, drive clutchand lock clutch; and a cartridge equipped chain of imbricated bags; allas further described hereafter.

The present invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatusfor sequentially packaging items in bags and to a new and improved tapefeeding apparatus, a new package of imbricated bags and to a new powersupplying apparatus.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved method and animproved apparatus for sequentially loading bags at a high output rate.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such an apparatushaving low cost and simplified design for minimum maintenance andoperating expense.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved method andapparatus for sequentially bagging items that lend themselves to usewith a wide variety of different items, in particular, bulky items.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a method andan apparatus for bagging items that is sufficiently simple in operationthat it lends itself to highly efficient use by operators or baggerswithout the requirement for extensive training.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improvedmethod and apparatus for pulling or conveying tape.

It is another object of this invention to' provide a new and improvedpackage of imbricated bags.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a powersupplying apparatus that can be used in powering the apparatus forsequentially loading bags with particular advantage under particularlyrigorous ambient demands.

In summary, carrying out my invention in one form thereof, a bagfeeding, opening and filling apparatus is provided for feeding acontinuous chain of imbricated bags sequentially into a loadingposition, sequentially opening the bags and filling the bags. Theapparatus has a frame. A series of horizontal, spaced apart, parallel,and aligned guide rollers are mounted on the frame and they direct,orient, and guide the chain of imbricated bags toward the loadingposition.

A support table and tape pulling unit is mounted on the frame. Thesupport unit includes a smooth surface support table that defines a bagsupport, opening and loading position. The support table has the shapeof an isosceles triangle with the base side of the triangle orientedforward into the loading position and tapering rearwardly for reiceceipt of the imbricated bags. The forward edge of the support tablecurves downwardly. The support table and tape pulling unit includes apowered pulling gear and a two position meshing idler gear. The idlergear has a positive toggle lock for securing it in driven engagementwith the driving gear. The meshing gears provide a means for conveyingthe imbricated bags by pulling the imbricated bags onto the supporttable. The gears grip two strands of tape between them and feed the tapetherebeyond, adhering the tacky surfaces of the tape together bysqueezing the tape between the intermeshing gear surfaces. Theintermeshing gears are cylindrical and they are positioned below thecurved edge of the support table and have parallel axes that projectforward and lie in a plane parallel to the general plane of the supporttable.

Two parallel laterally adjustable idler guide and orientation wheels arepositioned below the curved edge of the support table and above theintermeshing gears with their axes parallel to the axis of theintermeshing gears, the outer cylindrical surfaces of the wheels areknurled to prevent the tacky surface of the tape from adhering to them.The wheels serve to provide a twist in the tape as it is pulled downover the forward edge of said support table and to orient the tape forpassage into the meshing driven and idler gears. The driven gear ispowdered by a sequential drive means to pull the tape through theapparatus in small sequential steps. The sequential drive means is ashort cycle power means connected to a powered rotating shaft. The shaftis connected to the driven gear.

A signal means in the path of the bag is provided by a resilient bladeindexing trigger that projects through and extends above the forwardedge of the support table, an actuating means or switch is engaged bythe trigger and sequentially switches the drive means into drivingactuation in response to the actuation of the trigger when the triggeris engaged and released by the lead bag in the chain of imbricated bags.

An air blower driven by an electric motor is mounted on the frame andpositioned below the tray. An air chute in air stream engagement withthe blowers outlet is oriented to direct air from the blower against theforward edge of the bag engaged by the trigger in the loading positionat the forward edge of the support table to inflate the bag. This is themeans for opening the lead bag. The air is a fluid gas and provides theactively propelled force for opening the bag. A tray is mounted on theframe and has a resilient forward end of reduced cross section thatengages in the open end of the bag to facilitate inserting items intothe bag.

By other aspects of our invention a reciprocating tray is mounted on theapparatus frame. The tray has expanding side arms that are resilient andform a resilient forward end of reduced cross section. An air cylinderis connected to a moveable gate and opens and closes a gate to the airblower in response to the actuation of an air switch mounted on theframe in the path of the reciprocating tray. By a still further aspectthe tray may be stationarily mounted on the frame. The forward end ofthe tray has a reduced cross section and includes at least two resilientside arms at opposite sides of the tray. The lower edges of side armshave upwardly curving surfaces that guide a bags upper lip outwardly andupwardly when the upper lip is lifted against the surface to cam the bagoutwardly and guide it upwardly where it can open over the arms. In thismanner the bag can encompass the arms enabling the tray to bestationarily positioned in the loading position a sufficient distance tofacilitate the expeditious loading of the bags.

By another aspect of our invention, in a preferred form -thereof, apackage is provided comprising a cartridge having an internal spoolrotatably secured medially therein. A passage opens into the cartridgeto the spool and two long strands of tape have respective ends attachedto the spool and extending from the cartridge through the passageway. Aplurality of identical bags are secured by one side to both of thetapes. The open end of each bag is oriented in the same directionrelative to the tapes as all of the other bags and each bag faces alongthe tapes toward the cartridge. Each bag, after the bottom bag relativeto the tape, is offset along the tapes and overlies the opening of theunderlying bag. The tapes are spaced apart about an even distance wherethey engage each of the bags. Each of the bags is flattened and has twosides arranged in overlying disposition.

By a further aspect of the invention, in a preferred form thereof, thetape pulling mechanism of the apparatus is modified to provide acoupling member at the end of the rotating shaft. The cartridgecontaining package of imbricated bags has a coupling in the spoolexposed for external coupling to the powered rotating shaft so that thetape pulling apparatus and the package of imbricated bags may becombined in an operating combination.

By another aspect of our invention, in one preferred form thereof, adropping mechanism is provided for pivoting the support table and tapepulling unit rearwardly so that the apparatus can be convenientlyreloaded with a new chain of imbricated bags. The dropping mechanismincludes an air cylinder for closing and retaining the support table andtape pulling unit in closed position. A lever releases the air from thecylinder to open the table and admits air to the cylinder to close thetable.

In summary, in carrying out our invention in one form thereof, a processis provided for sequentially loading a chain of imbricated bagssupported by two parallel spaced apart tapes each of which has one tackysurface engaging one side of each bag. In practice, the two spaced aparttapes are pulled from a medial position between their normal spacedapart paths and at the same time their respective tacky surfaces aresqueezed together by gripping the tapes between the teeth of a pair ofgears and sequentially activating the gears to pull the tape in stepwisefashion. The bags are sequentially moved into a loading position withtheir unattached sides oriented upwardly by pulling the tapes. The sideof the bag engaged by the tapes in the loading position is firmlysupported. The bags are sequentially inflated as they are positioned inthe loading position by initially reducing the air pressure above theunattached side of the bag to partially open bag to increase thepressure inside the bag and fully open the bag. A tray is engaged in theopen bag and an article is loaded onto the tray. The article is loadedinto the bag and the bag is simultaneously peeled from the tapesstarting at the bags forward edge and proceeding toward the bottom ofthe bag until the bag is free from the tape, and the loaded bag isdisengaged from the tray.

While several species of the principles of the present invention areillustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in detail in thefollowing specification, it is to be understood that such embodimentsare by way of example only and that various mechanical and proceduralmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, the scope of which is limted only as defined in the appendedclaims.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic top plan view of one specie of the apparatus ofour invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the support table and tapepulling unit 15 of FIG. 3 with parts broken away to show the triggermechanism and driving means.

FIG. 3 is a digrammatic side plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 withthe frame broken away.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a bag suitable for use on the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic front plan view of a chain of imbricated bagsmounted on tape suitable for use with the apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic side plan view of the chain of imbricated bagsof FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic front end view of the support table andinflated bag of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic perspective view similar to FIG. 2 of anotherspecie of the support table and tape pulling unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic side plan view similar to FIG. 3 of anotherspecie of our apparatus to illustrate the distinctions between the twospecies, FIG. 9 is in less detail than FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic top plan view similar to FIG. 1 of the specieof our apparatus shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. ll is a diagrammatic perspective view of a still further specie ofthe support table and tape pulling unit of our invention somewhatsimilar to FIG. 2 but displaying our improved windup package.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic front view similar to FIG. 5 of another specieof a chain of imbricated bags mounted on tape and suitable for use withthe apparatus of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic side plan view of the chain of imbricated bagsof FIG. 12.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, a packagingapparatus 10 is shown therein embodying the invention in one preferredform thereof. The apparatus 10 has a frame 11 with a article insertingtray 12 reciprocally mounted thereon for reciprocation from the outposition shown in solid lines in FIG. 3 to the inserted position 13shown in dotted lines. A support table and tape pullng unit 15 ispivotally mounted on the frame. A forced air system 16 is mounted belowthe tray (as shown in FIG. 3) on the frame and directs air across theforward edge of the top of the support table and tape pulling unit asindicated by the arrows depicting the air flow path. A bag feed inarrangement 17 is provided at one end of the apparatus 10. A tabledropping mechanism 20 is provided for pivoting the support table andtape pulling unit between operating and reloading positions.

The support table and tape pulling unit 15 is shown in particular detailin FIGS. 2 and 3. The unit 15 includes a support table 21 which has theshape of an isosceles triangle with the base side of the triangleoriented forward. The triangle tapes rearwardly and has a curved point18 at its outer end so that it will not tear the bags. The forward edge22 of the support table curves downwardly and has an opening 23 (FIG. 1)in the center of the curved forward edge out. The unit 15 has arectangular front plate 24 and a substantially rectangular bottom plate25. The side plates 26 and 27 are substantially rectangular with theirback edges curving and conforming to curved point 18 of the triangularsupport table 21. The side plates 26 and 27 are cut out along theirrearmost bottom edges to expose the power means 28. A housing for theunits power means 28 is formed by the members or walls 21, 24, 25, 26and 27.

The power means 28 includes a power train which begins at the output endwith a driven gear 30. A beveled shaft 31 having an end 31a secured tothe gear and extending from the gear 30 through a supporting bushingassembly 32 and through the gear housing 33 of clutch 34. The shaft 31is connected to the gear housing 33 for joint rotation therewith. Theclutch disc 35 of clutch 34 is secured to the bottom plate 25 by bracket19 against rotation. The shaft 31 passes beyond clutch 34, through asecond supporting bushing 36 and through a second clutch 37. The gearhousing 38 of the second clutch 37 is connected to shaft 31 for rotationtherewith. The clutch disc 39 of clutch 37 is connected by shaft 40 toan arm 41 which is connected by shaft 42 to a reciprocating rotaryacatuator or reversing air motor 43. Clutchcs 34 and 37 are over-rideclutches of the type that have one direction drive and one directionslip. Both clutches drive when clockwise motion is supplied (as seen inFIG. 3) and are out of driving engagement when counter clockwise motionis supplied.

. The reciprocating rotary actuator 43 is driven in a clockwisedirection (as seen in FIG. 3) when the pressure is on line 44 whichdrives the driven wheel 30. Clutch 37 is engaged with driving shaft 31and clutch 32 is disengaged allowing shaft 31 to rotate freely. Whenpressure is applied to the reciprocating rotary actuator by line 45 therotary actuator has a counter clockwise motion and clutch 37 disengagesallowing the driven disk 39 to slip and clutch 34 engages preventing theshaft 31 from reversing its motion. Drive gear 30 thus remains in lockedposition and will not turn counter-clockwise.

Rotary actuator 43 is controlled by a valve 46 which is a two-way valvethat switches the air from line 44 to line 45 and back to line 44 inresponse to its actuation by a pilot valve 47. Pilot valve 47 is anon-olf valve operated through a spring loaded actuator 50 by a leafspring trigger 51 which closes the pilot valve cutting off the air tothe actuator in valve 46 which also has an internal spring loadedactuator. The pilot valve 47 is connected to valve 46 by line 52. Aconstant supply of air is supplied to valve 46 and to valve 47 via line53, branch 54 extending to valve 46 and branch 55 extending to valve 47.The leaf spring trigger 51 extends through the support table 21 via slot23 (FIG. 1).

A meshing idler gear 56 can be intermeshed or released from meshingengagement with the driven gear 30 by manipulating toggle lock 57.

Gear 56 is journaled in bracket 58 which is connected by rod 60 to thepivotal linkage 61 which moves the wheel in and out in response to thepivoting of handle 62. When the handle is in the position shown in FIG.2 the toggle 57 is in the locked position and the meshing gears are inmeshed engagement. When the handle 62 is lowered the two-position idlergear 56 is moved to its outward position.

. Two freely rotating guide and orientation Wheels 63 and 64 projectfrom and are journaled in plate 24. Wheels 63 and 64 guide the tape thatsupports the bags down over the curved edge 22 of the support table andprovides a twist in the tape so that it may be received between themeshing gears 30 and 56. The surfaces of the wheels 63 and 64 areknurled. The wheels are parallel to one another and laterally adjustablyin slots 65 and 66 respectively. Screws 70 and 71 serve to tighten theinner shaft of the wheels in fixed position in the slots in any selectedposition along the slots.

Looking now at FIGS. 1 and 3, the guide mechanism 17 may be seen toinclude a series of horizontal, spaced apart parallel and aligned guiderollers 73, 74, 75 and 76 which are rotatably mounted between the framemembers 80 and :81; the topmost surface of each roller is substantiallyaligned with the upper plane of the supporting table 21. The rollerspreferably have plastic or rubber surfaces so that they will not developsharp ridges or bumps when scarred or damaged. Such sharp projectionscould damage the bags, particularly when the apparatus is used withplastic bags such as Saran or polypropylene bags.

Several spaced apart rollers are provided so that the apparatus will bereadily adaptable for use with bags of varying sizes. The rollers arespaced outward from the back of the support table 21 a distancesuflicient to provide for a substantially complete straightening out ofthe bag by the time the bag reaches the forward edge of the supporttable in its loading position. This is important in providing for theeasy inflation of the bag, for if the bag is folded down at its rearportion for a substantial dis-' tance when it is being inflated the airmust usually be supplied with greater force to unfold the bag and liftit upwardly from the folded down region. This could result in the outerextremity of the bag remaining uninflated in some instances which wouldnormally be undesirable. While the rollers can be lined up beyond thedistance required to straighten out the bags this only makes the machineunnecessarily long. The chain of bags can also be fed over a roller moredistant from the loading position than that necessary to straighten outthe lead bags but then it is more trouble to unload a chain of bags fromthe machine to switch bag sizes because the bags must be folded backinto the supply box to prevent tangling. If the entire chain of bags isto be used up without directly attaching a subsequent chain onto its endit is desirable to have the bags pulled up and over the roller closet tothe support table, commensurate with obtaining the needed bagstraightening, to obtain the additional drag on the chain provided bythe weight of the bags hanging down from the roller as long as possiblefor power tensioning and straightening of the bags and tape.

The rollers 73, 74, and 76 are spaced sufiiciently close together sothat the chain of imbricated bags will not sag appreciatively downbetween the rollers when being fed across several of them. A verysatisfactory spacing between the rollers has been found to be from about2% inches to 3 inches using bags that are from 10 inches wide and 24inches long and Weigh .08 pound to 18 inches wide and 32 inches long andweigh .13 pound each when the bags are spaced /1 inch apart with atolerance of 4 inch.

It is important to provide the triangular support table shape over whichthe chain of imbricated bags can be drawn as they pass from the rollersbecause when the tapes are spaced inwardly A the width of the bag fromeach side, the forward corners of the bags fall down as shown at oneside in FIG. 5 for purposes of illustration. This occurs as the bags aredrawn up onto the table because the edges of the bags that extend outbeyond the bags are not supported by the tapes and if the bags aresupple, such as 1.5 mils Saran film bags, the corners fall down as thebags are pulled from the box up onto the apparatus. The tips of thetriangle over which the bags first proceed are narrower than the spacingof the top so that the bags pass on to the support table where they aresupported and held straight @by the tape. The edges of the bags fallover the edges of the support table. As the bags are pulled farther upon the widening triangle the edges of the bags are continuouslystraightened or cammed outwardly by the wedge shape of the triangle. Atits forward edge the triangle is wider than the bags and they are heldstraightened out.

The table positioning mechanism 20 pivots the support table and tapepulling unit 15 about the pair of trunnions which are connected to theframe 11. Only one of the trunnions 82 is shown in FIG. 3. The trunnionsare secured in brackets 83 as seen in FIG. 3. The brackets are securedto the frame .11.

The unit 15 is raised and lowered by a single air cylinder 84 which isoperated by a valve 85. The valve 85 is opened and closed by lever 86. Aconstant supply of air is supplied by line 87 to the valve 85 and whenthe lever is in the position shown in solid lines air is supplied to thecylinder 84 through line 88 and the piston (not shown) is driven forwardpulling the table into its closed operable position. By moving the lever86 to the position shown in broken lines the air to the cylinder 84which has been holding the table closed is shut off and line .89 isopened allowing the air in the cylinder to escape slowly through arestricted orifice (not shown) allowing the unit 15 to open slowly. Theair pressure to the cylinder is 30 p.s.i. and this provides a safetyfeature because an operator can manually overcome the closing pressureby pushing against the unit. The air pressure is also insufiicient tocrush a hand. The cylinder 84 may be seen to be connected to the frameby bracket 90 and to the unit 15 by bracket 91 through the pistons rod92.

The reciprocating table 12 may be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 to includesleeves and 101 which are slidably mounted on the supporting guide rods102 and 103. The reciprocating tray has sides 104 and 105. Spring arms106 7 and 107 extend from the sides 104 and 105 respectively andconverge inwardly.

The air blower unit 16 has a centrifugal air blower or fan inside casingoperated by an electric motor (not shown) positioned inside of the airblowers casing on the far side in FIG. 3. The air blower takes air inthrough the inlet 111 and propels it out through the outlet 112 into achute 113 which has a sloping bottom wall 114 and side walls 115 and 116(see FIG. 1). The chute 113 directs the air upwardly across the front orforward edge 22 of the support table 21 as indicated by the arrows inFIG. 3. A gate 117 closes the inlet 111 to the fan and thus prevent themovement of air through the fan and thence out exit 112 and chute 113.The gate is a fiat disc that engages around the rim of opening 111. Thecylinder 120 opens and closes the gate 117. Piston rod 21 connects thecylinder to the gate 117. The cylinder 120 is connected to the frame 11by mounting bracket 120a. The piston in the cylinder 120 is springloaded.

The piston is driven by air supplied by line 122 to close the gate 117and when the air pressure is released the spring (not shown) opens thegate 117. Valve 123 controls the supply of air to cylinder 120 throughthe actuator and release of spring loaded lever 124. The gate valve 117,is normally held open by the spring in cylinder 120 so that air issupplied from the blowers outlet 112 through the chute 113 across thefront or forward edge of the support table 21. However, when the tray 12is moved inwardly the beveled camming surface of sleeve 101 earns thelever 124 down admitting air to line 122 which drives the piston in thecylinder 120 outwardly moving the gate 117 across the inlet 111 shuttingoff the air entering the fan. When the tray 12 is retracted the lever124 is released by the camming surface 125 shutting off the air to line122 and opening the line so that the air in the cylinder may escapeallowing the spring to drive the piston back in the cylinder openinggate 117 and admitting air once again into the fan so that it may bepropelled from the fans outlet 112.

A plurality of imbricated bags that are arranged along the two strips ofadhesive tape 128 and 129 may also be seen in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.In FIG. 3 one bag 131 is shown inflated on the support table 21. Thechain of imbricated bags may be seen to be made up of numerousindividual bags 131, 132, 133 and 134, in FIG. 6, for example. Thesebags are adhered to the two parallel and spaced apart tacky tapes. Thetwo may be seen in FIGS. 1 and 7 in operating engagement on the machine,pulled down over the forward edge 22 of the support table 21 and passedaround the knurled wheels 63 and 64 (as may also be seen from FIGS. 2and 3) and between the meshing gears 30 and 56. The imbricated bagsextend back across rollers 73 and 74 that support them. The bags extendover roller 74 and down into a stock box 143. Rollers 75 and 76 areprovided for use in supporting longer bags. The bags should usually beat least substantially horizontal before they are inflated. The chain ofbags or package 130 is hooked to a separate chain of bags or packagewhich is in another stock container 146. The two chains of bags arejoined by securing the end portions of the tapes 128 and 129 and thebeginning portions of tapes 147 and 148 in the fresh box 149 ofimbricated bags.

The tapes 128 and 129 are spaced apart on the imbricated bags about Athe width of the bag in from each side within a tolerance of A; thewidth of the bag so that the bags may open into a wide oval opening. Theopening approaches a circular configuration of the somewhat squareconfiguration of FIG. 7. The tapes are spaced inwardly from theirrespective sides about an equal distance. The tolerance for the equalinward spacing is about /2 inch if the bags are to be optimally pulledinto the loading position with the open end evenly aligned. Thus in theexample shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the bag is 12 inches wide, the tapesare 5%. inches from inside edge to inside edge, the tapes are inch wide,the distance from the outside edge of each tape to the nearest side edgeof the bag is 3 inches. The bags are offset from one another along thetape /4\ inch. The tape contact surface is 1%; square inches on eachbag, W square inch contact surface per tape. Depending on the size bagused the tape contact surface per tape may desirably vary from A1 to 1square inch per tape. The tack strength should be such that from 2-4pounds, more preferably about 2 pounds, will separate the bag from thetapes and 1% pounds, more preferably 1 pound, will not separate the bagfrom the tapes when the pull is provided on an angle of 30 in thedirection toward which the bags are normally stripped from the tapes. Ifa high tack tape is used the width of tape and the area of contact canbe substantially reduced by several fold. The tensile strength of thetape should, however, be maintained above about 25 to 55 pounds pertape; more preferably 55 pounds per tape. In order that the tapes notcause the lead bag to trough or curve side edge to side edge when beingpositioned in the loading position the tape extends 18 inches beyond thelead bag in the chain.

If the surfaces of the bags tend to adhere together a dusting of tale tocover the surfaces of the bags inside and out may be used to overcomethe sticking together of the surfaces.

Other preferred embodiments of our invention are shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and10. The support table and tape pulling unit 215 of FIG. 8 is similar tothe support table and tape pulling unit 15 except rather than themultiple component power means 28 a power unit 228 is provided. Thepower unit 228 has a low geared start-stop motor 243 which is geared(gears not shown) in such a ratio that it will not reverse when areverse pressure of 15 pounds is applied to shaft 231. The motor usedwas a Slo-Syn trademark, Driving Motor having a torque capacity of 400amps inches at 16.6 r.p.m. obtained from the Superior Electric Company,Bristol, Conn., The shaft 231 is connected to and drives a driven gear230. A spring loaded on-olf electrical switch 247 is connected by wires244 and 245 to the motor 243. The switch is biased to the off positron.The switch is cut on by the leaf spring trigger 251 when it engagesagainst the spring loded actuator 250 and overcomes the bias of theactuator. In other respects the support table and tape pulling unit 215is almost identical to the support table and tape pulling unit 15 withthe exception of shield 219 (FIGS. 9 and 10). The support table 215 hasa triangular support table 221 with a curved forward edge 222 which hasan opening 223, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 10 through its forwardedge. Shield 219 is fastened to the front plate 224 of the support tableand tape pulling unit 215 and extends over the leaf spring trigger 251so that the trigger is shielded from the forward or article insertingend of apparatus directly above and in front of the trigger 25. Thesupport table and tape pulling unit 215 (FIG. 8) is shown equipped fornon-pivotal mounting in the manner of the unit shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.However, the unit 215 could just as well be pivotally mounted in themanner of unit 15 and vice versa. Unit 15 could also be substltuted forunit 215 in FIGS. 9 and 10 by the same token the unit 215 could bepivotally mounted and substituted for unit 15 in device 10 of FIGS. 1and 3.

Unit 215 may be seen in FIG. 8 to have a front plate 224, a bottom plate225 and side plates 226 and 227. The unit 215 has non-laterallyadjustable but freely rotating guide and orientation wheels 263 and 264and a meshing idler gear 256. The idler gear 256 has a meshing positionand an out of mesh or open position between which it is moved by thetoggle 257. The tray 212 is rigidly mounted in assembly 315 with the fan210 and chute 213. The assembly 315 is hinged to the frame 211 withhinges 382 and 383 (FIGS. 9 and 10). An over center self locking foldingsupport arm 390 is connected to the frame 211 and the assembly 315 andsupports the assembly in the raised position. When it is desired tounlock the arm 390 it is bent at 391 and folds as the assembly islowered. The assembly is raised and lowered manually. Brackets 300 and301 engage the assembly frame 310 to support and position the assemblywhen it is in its operable position.

The tray 212 has sides 304 and 305 from which spring arm 306 and 307respectively project. The spring arms 306 and 307 are positioned so thatwhen a bag is inflated their forward ends will be inside of the bag. Thespring arms have curved forward edges 308 and 309 that serve as guidingsurfaces such as 307a to guide the bag from under the arms to fullinflation above the arms. It may be seen in FIG. 8 that the spring armsstraddle the guard 219.

The forced air system 216 includes an electrically powered centrifugalfan 210 which operates continuously when the apparatus is in operation.When the apparatus is placed in operation the fan is initially activatedby a switch (not shown). The air enters the fan through inlet 211 andexits through outlet 312 into chute 213 which has a number of protectivebars 217 and 218 across its outlet as shown in FIG. 10. This preventslarge particles of the article being packaged from falling down thechute and blocking the air passage. The bars 217 and 218 also serve as asurface bridging the chute outlet over which the article to be packagedmay slide.

For purposes of illustration, the bags shown in FIG. 10 on machine 210are slightly longer than the bags shown in FIG. 1 positioned on themachine 10 and it may be seen that the bags shown in FIG. 10 extend backacross rollers 273, 274 adn 275 and down over roller 275. Thus the useof the plurality of support rollers in accommodating bags of differingsizes is illustrated.

By a further aspect of our invention, in a preferred form thereof, wehave provided a combination of a chain of imbricated bags and a windablecartridge. The windable cartridge 400 remova'bly clips onto theembodiment of the support table and tape pulling unit 415 shown in apreferred form in FIG. 11. Only these portions of apparatus 415necessary to illustrate the differences between unit 415 and units 215and are shown in FIG. 11. The power unit could, of course, be eitherthat of unit 15 or of unit 215. A shaft 431 projects through the frontplate 424 and has a coupling head 401 thereon for engagement in thespool couple 402 to rotate the spool 403 (FIG. 13) which is mounted forrotation within the housing 404. The housing 404 has two members, a backmember 405 and a front member 406 which are frictionally held togetherwith the rim 410a of member 405 fitting inside of the rim 411a of member406. The rims project from circular walls 410 and 411 respectively andwith the rims form shallow cup shaped members 405 and 406. The rotatablespool is mounted in the wall of housing member 405. A slot 407 entersthrough the rim of the housing 404. Lips 408 and 409 are integrallymolded with the housing member 405 and prevent the tearing of the tapeas it passes through the slot 407. The housing member 406 may havesimilar lip portions or the lips in the housing member 405 may simplyhave a slot permitting the lips 408 and 409 to extend across the slot inthe housing 404 so that the tape can scrape only against the rounded lipportions as it is drawn into the tape cartridge 400.

Pairs of bosses 412a, 4121: and 4120 are formed on housing member 405.Each boss extends across a portion of the back of the housing member anda portion of the rim. Bosses 413a, 4131) and 4130 are formed on thefront plate 424 of the unit 415. When the tape windup cartridge 400 issecured to the unit 415 the pairs of bosses 415a, 4121? and 4120cooperatively receive respectively bosses 413a, 4131; and 413atherebetween to secure the cartridge housing 404 non-rotatably to theunit 415.

By an aspect of this invention in a preferred embodiment a chain ofimbricated bags of the type shown in FIG. 12 is packaged in a packagesuch as package 143 of FIG. 3. The chain of imbricated bags 430 includesthe combination of the windup cartridge 400, the tapes 428 and 429 andthe bags. The chain of imbricated bags is shown in FIG. 13 with the topcover 406 removed for purposes of illustration. Of course, in actualpackaging it would be in place. The tapes 428 and 429 are spaced aparton the imbricated bags about A the width of the bag in from each sidewithin a tolerance of /s the width of the bag so that the bags may openinto a wide oval opening. The opening approaches a circularconfiguration or the somewhat square configuration of FIG. 7. The tapesare spaced inwardly from their respective sides about an equal distance.The tolerance for the equal inward spacing is about /2 inch if the bagsare to be optionally pulled into the loading position with the open endevenly aligned. Thus in the example shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, the bagis 12 inches wide, the tapes are 4% inches from inside edge to insideedge, the tapes are /4 inch wide, the distance from the outside edge ofeach tape to the nearest side edge of the bag is 3 inches. The bags areoffset from one another along the tape /1 inch. The tape contact surfaceis 1% square inches on each bag, square inch contact surface per tape.Depending on the size bag used the tape contact surface per tape maydesirably vary from A to 1 square inch per tape. The tack strengthshould be such that from 2-4 pounds more preferably about 2 pounds willseparate the bag from the tapes and 1 /2 pound more preferably 1 poundwill not separate the bag from the tapes when the pull is provided on anangle of 30 in the direction toward which the bags are normally strippedfrom the tapes. If a high tack tape is used the width of tape and thearea of contact can be substantially reduced by several fold. Thetensile strength of the tape should, however, be maintained above about25 to 55 pounds per tape, more preferably above 55 pounds per tape. Inorder that the tapes not cause the lead bag to trough or curve side edgeto side edge when being positioned in the loading position the tapeextends 18 inches beyond the lead bag in the chain. The tapes areadhered together tacky surface to tacky surface starting at a point justbefore they enter the slot 407. Thus the tapes will not stick to thelips 409 and 408 as they are drawn into the slot 409 because thenontacky surface faces outwardly.

A small slot 420 is provided in the spool 403. The spool 403 also has anannular recess 421 into which the slot 420 opens. The double tapes 428and 429 are adhered together and then fed through the slot 420 and thetape is twisted one to several times, as necessary, and the twistedportion is pushed down in the annulus 421. This prevents the tape frompulling out through the slot 420 and provides a grip on the tape for itswindup by the support table and tape pulling unit 415. Of course, afterthis assembly has been completed the cover 406 is secured in positionwith its rim inside of the rim of housing member 405. The chain ofimbricated bags 430 is then complete.

If the surfaces of the bags tend to adhere together a dusting of talc tocover the surfaces of the bags inside and out may be used to overcomethe sticking together of the surfaces.

By an aspect of our invention in a preferred form thereof, a process isprovided for sequentially loading a chain of imbricated bags supportedby two parallel spaced apart tapes each of which has one tacky surfaceengaging one side of each bag. The other side of the tape is not tackyand faces outwardly. The two spaced apart tapes are pulled from a medialposition between their normal spaced apart paths and at the same timetheir respective tacky surfaces are squeezed together by gripping thetapes between the teeth of a pair of gears and sequentially activatingthe gears to pull the tape in stepwise fashion. The tape accumulatesbelow the gears and can be periodieally removed by severing the tapebelow the gears or by waiting until a run of bags is completed. Becausethe respective tacky surfaces have been squeezed together the tape isnot a problem from the standpoint of sticking to everything and forminga mess and fouling the efiicient operation of the apparatus.

By pulling the tapes from a medial position between their normal spacedapart paths the chain of imbricated bags is moved in a straight linewithout any substantial problem with c'anting from side to side andwithout a requirement for constantly adjusting the pull so that thechain will move in a straight line to the loading position. Each bag ispulled into the loading position in almost exactly the same position asthe previous bag to facilitate easy opening and loading withoutproviding compensation for irregularity in the bags position.

It is preferable that the tapes be pulled from a position below theplane of the bags when they are in the loading position. It is alsodesirable for the tapes and bags to pass through the loading position inan even horizontal plane with the very front edge of the bags beingslightly pulled down over a rounded edge. The tapes should preferably bemaintained spaced apart as they pass through the loading position andthe plane of the tape should be changed fairly abruptly desirably byengaging the tapes around idler wheels spaced apart about the normaldistance of the tapes spacing. By positioning the tape receivingsurfaces of the idler wheels both perpendicular and at right angles tothe tapes original horizontal plane of movement, the orientation of thetape can be correspondingly changed.

The bags are moved into the loading position sequentially, only thetopmost bag being fully in the loading position. The upwardly orientedside of this topmost bag is free of attachment so that it may be readilyopened. The bottom of the chain of imbricated bags is not tacky andslides easily in response to the pulling force applied to the tape. Thebottom side of the forwardmost bag in the imbricated chain is firmlysupported so that an item placed in the bag will not cause the entirebag to fall or otherwise deform until the bag is removed from theloading position.

The bags are sequentially inflated as they are positioned in the loadingposition by initially reducing the air pressure above the unattachedside of the bags to partially open the bag and subsequently directing astream of air into the partially open bag to increase the pressureinside of the bag and thereby fully open the bag. An article is loadedinto a reciprocating tray and this reciprocating tray is moved forwardshutting off the stream of air to the inside of the bag and the traymoves on into the bag before the bag can close and simultaneously peelsthe bag from the tapes starting at the bags forward edge and proceedingtoward the bottom of the bag until the bag is free from the tape.Simultaneously with this action the article is pushed from the tray intothe bag and thereafter a the loaded bag is disengaged from the tray andthe tray is drawn back out of the way for reloading.

By peeling the bag from the tape much less force is required than if thebag is stripped from the tape in a direct plane. This is because the bagis gradually stripped 1 from the tape by pulling upwardly against thebag starting at the edge of the top lip and pulling the bag from andlifting the bag backward away from the tape until it is free.

The bag may be separated from the tape in the manner described byemploying spaced apart spring arms on the tray having reduced dimensionsfor first entering the bag and increasingly spaced apart and upwardlyincreasing dimensions that engage the upper side of the bag as the trayprogresses into the bag lifting the bag off of the tapes and pushing thebag back from the tape in the same motion in the manner of a movingwedge, see FIG. 3, the shape of arm 107. The article being bagged can heslipped through the tray between the spring arms simultaneously with theinward movement of the tray. The outward movement of the spring armsagainst the sides of the bag would also tend to hold the bag in positionon the tray while the article is being loaded into the bag.

This process may advantageously be used to sequentially load a chain ofimbricated bags with items such as 12 cleaned and dressed turkeys orother market ready items.

To place the apparatus 10 of this invention in operation and operate itin a preferred manner, using 12 inch wide by 20 inch long bags and apreferred process of this invention, the support table and tape pullingunit 15 is opened to the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 3 andthe toggle lock 57 is open so that the gear 56 is spaced from gear 30.The knurled wheels 63 and 64 are adjusted apart equal distances from thecenter approximately the same spacing as the two lead tapes of the chainof bags. The knurled wheels need adjusting only if the width bag beingused varies substantially. If adjustment is necessary the screws and 71are loosened and the respective wheels are correspondingly moved in orout and then the screws are tightened again. To feed the chain of bags130 into the machine the two lead tapes 128 and 129 are manually raisedout of a package containing a chain of imbricated bags and fed up andover an appropriate roller so that they lay over the roller as shown inFIG. 1. The chain of imbricated bags 130 can be seen to pass betweenrollers 74 and 75 and to lie across the top of the rollers 73 and 74.

The chain of bags 130 is manually pulled over above the support table21. The tapes are drawn down over the forward edge of the table so thatthey engage the table with their non-tacky surfaces. Then tape 128 istwisted one half turn counter-clockwise and its tacky surface is engagedover the knurled wheel 63 as shown in FIG. 7. Tape 129 is twistedone-half turn clockwise and its tacky surface i engaged over knurledwheel 64 as is also shown in FIG. 7. The ends of the two tapes are stucktogether tacky surface to tacky surface and positioned or threadedbetween the gears 30 and 56 which are open. The locking toggle 57 isthen pivoted to move the idler gear 56 into mesh with the driven gear 30and then locked by pushing the toggle over center (FIG. 2). After thetoggle is locked the tape is securely held crimped between theintermeshed gears.

After the chain of imbricated bags 130 has been positioned in themachine and the tape secured between the intermeshing gears 30 and 56,the lever 86 is manually movd to open valve and supply air to cylinder84 which drives the piston and piston rod 92 forward pulling the supporttable and tape pulling unit 15 up into its operating position shown insolid lines in FIGS. 1 and 3.

When the imbricated bags are being fed or loaded into I the machine itis desirable to have the tray 12 sufiiciently forward to engage thelever 124, and cut off the air from fan 110. This prevents the air frombuffeting the forward edge of the bag sand inflating them before theapparatus 10 is ready for sequential operation. Of course, the machinemay be loaded with bags with its power both air and electric off. Thewould then be switched on before activating lever 86 to raise the unit15. The fan 16 could be switched on subsequently if desired. Once thetable and tape pulling unit 15 is in its operating position the drivingwheel 30 would convey the tape forward untl the lead bag in the chain130 engages against the trigger 51 opening valve 47 (FIG. 2). The tray12 is then retracted to its outer position for loading, switching theair on which inflates the lead bag.

When the tray is retracted the lever 124 is released by the cam surface125. This closes valve 123 admitting air to cylinder via line 122 andopens the gate 117 admitting air through inlet 111 into the fan whichpropels We air outwardly through outlet 112. The air is guided by thechute 113 across the forward edge of bag 131 and the air stream passingover the bag reduces the pressure over the bag and the air in the bagexpands slightly, slightly lifting the bag. The air stream then catchesinside the bag and further lifts the bag to fully open position. Somebags that have desirable properties such as very thin walls, clearsee-through characteristics and a very flexible hand, such as Saranbags, must be powdered inside to be fully operable. The powder preventsthe sides of the bags from adhering together and excluding air frombetween the two inner walls of the bags which would make the opening ofthe bag very difficult using only the air system employed here. Thepowder may be a material such as comstarch if edibles are to be placedin the bags.

Turning now to the sequential operation of the apparatus, an operatordeposits an item to be packed on the tray 12. The item may be suppliedby any means such as, for example, a push cart or conveyor (not shown).The tray 12 is pushed forward by the operator. As the tray moves forwardits conveying arms enter the mouth of the bag 131. After the arms haveentered about /s of the way into the bag the camming surface 125 engagesthe lever 124 actuating the gate 117 to close oif the air into the fan110 and thereby shut off the air from the fan. It is preferable to shutoff the air because as the bottom edge of the tray 12 passes over thechute 113 it deflects the air downwardly against the mouth of bag 132that underlies the bag 131 and tends to inflate the second bag beforethe first bag 131 is stripped from the tape. This tends to cause thebags to be partly stripped from the tape prematurely and it also tendsto tear the bags.

As the upper shoulder portions of the arms 106 and 107 enter furtherinto the bag they strip the bag from the tape by pulling upwardly on theupper lip of the bag as the tray is pushed further into the bag drawingthe bag upwardly on the arms. The arms can be seen to get higher attheir base juncture with sides 104 and 105 as shown in FIG. 3. It may beseen that the forward edge of the bag at the lower lip has been pulledslightly down over the curved forward edge so that the increasingupwardly camming of the arms is excentuated by the downward curvedposition of the lower lip. This substantially assures that the lower lipof the bag will peel upwardly from the tape with the peeling progressingfrom the very front edge toward the rear. This greatly reduces theamount of force required to strip the bag from the tape. A much greaterforce would be needed to shear the bag from the tape in the plane of thetape. Even the force needed to directly pull the bag from the tape atone time straight away is very high.

Asthe bag is stripped from the tape the tray is generally stillprogressing into the bag to complete the bags loading. The article beingloaded into the bag is shoved from the tray as the tray approaches itsinnermost position. The articles passes out through the spring arms 106and 107 opening the arms apart and spreading the bag further and moretautly which aids in pulling the bag from the tape by causing the bagsto pull away from the tape at the tapes outside edges. These functionsand actions are of course, going on in a continuous and fast sequencewith parts of the various functions and actions overlapping in time ofhappening so as to be simultaneous. In this same continuous motion thearticle is not only shoved from the tray but the bag is shoved from theloading position of the support table and, because of its relativelyslic surface, it slides easily across the other bags and onto a secondstation (not shown) which may be a conveyor or a table for moving it toa separate position for further processing such as closing by a personstanding just beyond the bag ging position. The rollers 72 and 73 aid inmoving the bags out of the way to the next station for furtherprocessing so that another bag may be loaded. Alternatively if the traydoes not have the upper camming shape to the arms 106 and 107, theoperator may hold her arm tilted upwardly and engage the forward edge ofthe bag stripping it from the tape.

As the bag is stripped from the tape the trigger 51 is released by thelower lip of the bag. The trigger 51 moves inwardly due to its springaction engaging the spring loaded slide actuator 50 which closes thepilot valve 47 cutting off the air to line 52 which allows the airthrough line 54 to move the slide in the valve 46 to open line 44 andreverse the rotary actuator 43 driving gear 30 clockwise through thepower train. The tape is thus conveyed through the meshing gears 30 and56 a sufiicient distance to pull the next bag 132 in the chain 130against the trigger 51 drawing the trigger forward away from the springloaded actuator 50 'which opens the pilot valve 46 admitting air throughline 52 against the slide in the valve 47 which switches the air to line45 reversing the reciprocating actuator to a counter-clockwise rotation.This reverses the movement of the shaft 42 opening clutch 37 andbreaking the power train. Clutch 34 engages so that the drive wheel 30is locked and cannot reverse its motion. Thus the tapes 128 and 129 areheld crimped between gears 30 and 56 and the bag 131 thus is secured inloading position.

The leaf spring trigger 51 because of its extra bending displacementprovides some de ree of override in response to the bags pressureagainst it insuring a complete disengagement of the trigger from theslide 50. The override is provided by the momentary delay in thereversal of the reciprocating rotary actuator. The override prevents theshattering type of switching of the power means that could otherwiseoccur due to a usually inherent slight giving and stretching of theforward lip of the plastic bags that would usually be used on theapparatus. The lip of the bag is engaged with and serves to actuate thetrigger 51.

When the tape is pulled by the gears 30 and 56 its non tacky surfaceslides over the upper surface of the support table 21 and the curvededge 22. The tacky surfaces of the tape are engaged on the knurledsurfaces of the wheels 63 and 64 causing the wheels to rotate as thetape is pulled. Because the wheels 63 and 64 are knurled the tapeseparates from the wheels in response to only very slight separatingforces. This reduces the power requirements for machine operation.

As the tray is manually moved back to the loading position forreloading, lever 124 is released by the camming surface 125 therebyopening valve 123 releasing the air from the cylinder 120 allowing thespring in the cylinder to draw the piston into the cylinder opening upthe inlet 111 to the fan 110. By the time the fan is open again, theloaded bag or package should have moved out of the way and the next bagis usually already in the loading position.

The fan 110' propels air through outlet 112 and the chute 113, directsthe air against the forward edge of the bag where it initially proceedson across the upper surface of the bag 131 until sufi'icient opening isattained in the bag for the air to fully enter the bag 131. Once the bagis fully inflated and opened by the air, the apparatus is ready for therepetition of the procedure just described which can be sequentiallycontinued indefinitely.

When the chain of bags in the package 143 is about to be exhausted a newpackage 146 containing a new chain of bags may be moved up adjacent tothe package 143 as shown in FIG. 3 and the end tapes 128 and 129 fromthe chain of imbricated bags in package 143 may be attached to the leadout ends of tapes 147 and 148, respectively, by adhering the tapestogether so that the new chain will be pulled onto the apparatus and fedthrough the apparatus in the same manner as the chain 130. The tapes 147and 148 must be attached so that the tacky tape sides are oriented up inthe same manner as the chain of bags 130. It is obvious that thissequence can also be continued indefinitely as the trailing ends oftapes 147 and 148 may be attached to another package of bags and so on.Of course, once the package 143 is exhausted the empty package containermay be removed and the package 149 It has been found to be preferable topower the machine with air with the exception of the fan because the airsystem does not normally present the other general electricalinsulation, corrosion and deterioration problems persented by electricalwiring and devices under such rigorous oper ating conditions as meatpacking plants where the apparatus is constantly wet down, washed andbuffeted with water, steam and other cleansing mediums. Electricalapparatuses also present a safety hazard because of the possibility thatpersonnel operating the machines will be shocked due to insulationfailure under the wet operating conditions. The air powered machineusually provides for safe operation, lower maintenance costs and lessexpensive installation costs because there is a reduced need to protectelectrical parts. It has been found that it is usually best to operatethe fan with electrical power because of the high power requirementswhich necessitate the use of much higher air pressure than the 30 poundpressure which has been found suflicient to operate the apparatus whenthe fan is directly powered electrically. This split power means reducesthe overall power requirements.

A reciprocating rotary actuator has been found to be the preferabledriving means because it has low maintenance costs and low powerrequirements. In the embodiment shown a 150 inch pounds torque rotaryactuator was used. The use of the air cylinder 84 to raise and lower thesupport table and tape pulling unit 21 has been found to be particularlydesirable because the 30 pounds of pressure required to pivotally movethe support table and tape pulling unit 15 which weighs about 30 pounds,in the embodiment shown, is not a sufficiently large force to present asafety hazard should someone get a hand or another body part in the wayof the movement of the support table and tape pulling unit 15. The aircylinder which is a double acting type air cylinder when operated atabout 30 pounds of air pressure provides sufficiently slow-medium motionin opening and closing the apparatus to not delay operation and yet togive the operator time to observe and correct any binding, such as thebags not moving upwardly over the roller as the tape moves forward whichcould cause a break in the tape due to overstretching should the bagsfor some reason he held by the package due to a package beingincompletely opened or some such. This speed of opening and closing,requiring about 4 seconds, leaves the operators hands free to adjust thetape after he positions the handle 86 to actuate the cylinder 84.

When it is desired to switch the size of the bags or to change the tapefor some other reason lever 86 is shifted to the position shown indotted lines in FIG. 3 closing the air inlet to line 88 into thecylinder 84 and opening the outlet for the air from the cylinder vialine 89 allowing the table to fall slowly backwards, the table beingpulled backwards by its off-center weight about the pivot 82 which isengaged in bracket 83 and their counterparts (not shown) on the otherside of the unit 15. The toggle 57 is moved to move idler wheel 56 outof mesh with wheel 30 releasing the tape from engagement therebetween.The chain 130 of imbricated bags can then be lifted back and fed backbetween rollers 74 and 75 into the package 143. The apparatus is thenready for loading with a chain of imbricated bags in the mannerpreviously described. Of course, a chain of bags could be used up andthe ends of the tape would simply run out between the meshing gears 30and 56. For reloading, the unit 15 would still be dropped back and thetoggle 57 opened.

To place an apparatus incorporating the embodiments of FIGS. 8, 9 and 10into operation and operate the apparatus in a preferred manner theoperation is somewhat similar to placing the apparatus 10 of thisinvention into operation and operating it as previously described withthe following differences. Initially the tray and blower assembly 315 isopened pivoting at hinges 382 and 383 to expose the front face of thesupport table and tap pulling unit 215. This is a manual operation. Theassembly is held in the raised position by support arm 390 while thechain of imbricated bags is being loaded in the apparatus. It will benoted that the support table and tape pulling unit 215 of FIG. 8 has nomeans for laterally adjusting the knurled wheels 263 and 264. Even sothe device may be used with tape spacings varying about 20% withoutundue difficulty. The chain of imbricated bags is shown in FIG. 10 to bedrawn up between rollers 276 and 275 and then the chain of bags is drawnacross rollers 275, 274 and 273 and across the support table 221 andover its forward edge 222 around the knurled wheels 263 and 264respectively with tape 329 receiving a clockwise twist in being drawnover the knurled wheel 264 and with tape 328 receiving a counterclockwise twist and engaged over knurled wheel 263. The directions ofthe twist being determined from a position facing the front plate 224.The tapes are then stuck tacky surface to tacky surface and positionedbetween the gears 230 and 256 and the toggle 257 is moved to its lockedposition to lock the wheels into meshing engagement with the tapes heldtherebetween. The hinged arm 390 is then unlocked and the tray andblower assembly 315 is lowered into engagement with two stops 385 and386 on the frame 211.

It will be observed in FIGS. 9 and 10 that the tray 212 is secured inpermanent position in the assembly 315, it does not reciprocate duringthe operation of the apparatus. Once the assembly 315 has been loweredand the power is turned on by an electric switch (not shown) the bagswill be drawn forward across the support table 221 until the forwardmostbags lips engage against the trigger mean 251. This will open switch 247(FIG. 8) shutting off the motor 243. The fan 210 (FIG. 9) is thenactivated either by the same switch that cuts on the power to motor 243or by another switch. The fan will usually be operated continuouslyduring a loading operation using the apparatus of FIGS. 9 and 10. Thefan 210 supplies air through chute 213 across the front edge 222 of thesupport table and once the bag is partially open into the bag itself.

After the bag has been opened by the air the article to be packaged isplaced by an operator in the tray 212 and pushed over bars 217 and 218across the chute 213, pushing the spring arms 306 and 307 outwardagainst the sides of the bag. The article passes through the spring armsand into the bag. The bag is peeled from the tape and pushed out of theway. In the embodiment shown the bag is peeled from the tape by theoperator. The operator holds her arm slanted upwardly and strikes theupper lip of the bag pushing the bag backwards as she pushes the articlethrough the spring arms into the bag as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 9.As in the previous embodiment the bag is slightly pulled downwardly overthe curved edge 222 which aids in peeling the bag from front to rear offof the tape. The bag could, of course, be stripped from the tape byconstructing the tray arms similar to the arm 107 of FIG. 3 so that asthe arms were pushed apart they would be sufficiently large to simplylift the bag from the tapes 328 and 329. The article slides over theguard 219 as it enters the bag thus preventing the article from strikingthe trigger 251 which would cause the motor 243 to be energized.

It is usually not necessary to provide means for shutting off the fanwhile the article is being inserted in the bag using the apparatus ofFIGS. 8, 9 and 10 because when the article passes across the chute 213it does not usually cause such a deflection of the air against the bagimmediately under the one being loaded as to partially inflate that bag.The bottom of the tray does not pass across the chute and the articlepasses over the chute and into the bag so quickly that a problem has notbeen found to exist.

Once the bag is stripped out of the way the next bag is pulled intoposition against trigger 251 and begins to inflate. Its upper side andlip rise upwardly under the curved forward edge 308 and 309 of the arms306 and 307. The arms 306 and 307 are shown in FIG. 10 positioned insidethe mouth of the bag shown in solid lines and over the upper lip of thepartially inflated bag shown in dotted lines. The upper lip of thepartially inflated bag rises upwardly along the front edge of the armsuntil it passes above the arms at which time it flips open andstraightens out above the upper surface of the arms as shown in fulllines. A deflection and tray support plate 309a deflects the airdownwardly and also serves as a top to the chute 213. It is important todeliver the air into the bag at a fairly low angle in order to assurethat the air will flow under the upper lip of the bag when it is bentback under the arms 306 and 307. This assures that the air will passinto the bag rather than over the bag. of course, it is also importantthat the air not be delivered at such a low angle as to cause the secondbag down in the chain to partiallyinflate. Once the bag is fully openedit is then ready to be loaded with an article and the sequence iscontinued in the same manner as desired.

- To load a subsequent chain of bags onto the apparatus of FIGS. -8, 9and 10, an additional chain may be attached directly to the chain ofbags already loaded into the machaine as previously described todirectly add another package into the apparatus or the chain may befully used up or the machine may be stopped and the chain removed and anew chain of bag loaded into the machine as desired. 7

To place the apparatus of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 11, 12 and 13in operation and operate it in a preferred manner, the support table andtape pulling unit 415 is opened in the same manner described withrespect to the unit 15. The cartridge 400 is lifted from the packagecontaining the chain of imbricated bags 430 and fed between theappropriate rollers in the same manner as described with respect toloading imbricated bags 130 into apparatus 10. The cartridge is thenpulled across the support table and down across the curved front edgeand connected to the shaft coupler 401 (FIG. 11). The pairs of bosses412a, 41% and 412s on the cartridge are aligned with the bosses 413a,4131: and 4130 respectively which closely fit between the boses on thecartridge and the cartridge is clipped into a tight frictionalengagement with plate 424 as it is connected to coupling 401 whichpasses into coupling 402. The support table and tape pulling unit 415 isthen raised into operating position in the same manner described withrespect to apparatus and sequential operation is carried out also aspreviously described. However, when the chain of imbricated bags hasbeen used up, it is necessary to substitute a new chain becausegenerally the cartridge only accommodates the tape from its own chain ofbags. Thus when the chain of bags is used' up, it is necessary to reloadthe apparatus 410 in the same manner as previously described for loadingthe apparatus by lowering the support table and tape pulling unit 415and removing the full cartridge andsubstituting a new cartridge.

While in accordance with the patent statutes we have described what atpresent are considered to be the preferred embodiments of our invention,it will be obvious to those skilled .in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from our invention,and we, therefore, aim in the following claims to cover all suchequivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

' We claim:

1. A bag feeding, opening and filling apparatus for feeding a continuouschain of imbricated bags sequentially into a loading position,sequentially opening the bags and filling the bags comprising a frame; abag loading station positioned on said frame; a means for conveying achain of imbricated bags to said station including a powered rotatableshaft; a power means connected to said shaft and driving said shaft inone direction periodically and sequentially; a signal producing means inthe path of the lead bag of said chain of imbricated bags at the loadingstation; an actuating means in operating engagement with said signalproducing means and said power means to activate said power means toindex said bags in said loading position when the trigger is engaged andrelease by the lead bag in the chain of imbricated bags; and means foropening the lead bag;

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein an apparatus is provided forfeeding, opening and filling a chain of imbricated bags supported on atleast two strands of tape and wherein the loading station is astationary support connected to said frame; the means for conveying thechain of imbricated bags is a tape puller, said tape puller being belowsaid support and connected to said frame; there are two guide membersthat receive the tape and provide respective changes in its movementorientation between'the support and the tape puller; the power means isa short cycle power means connected to the powered rotatable shaft anddriving said shaft in one direction periodically and sequentially; meansare connected to said rotatable shaft to prevent the reverse movement ofsaid shaft sequentially when said shaft is not being rotated in said onedirection; the signal producing means is an indexing trigger attached tosaid frame and projecting into the path of the lead bag of said chain ofimbricated bags at the stationary support; the actuating means is aswitch in operating engagement with said trigger and said power means tocycle said power means to index said bags in said loading position whenthe trigger is engaged and released by the lead bag in the chain ofimbricated bags; the means for opening the bags is an air blower in airstream engagement with the forward edge of a bag engaged by said triggerat said loading position to inflate the lead bag.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the tape puller includes a poweredpulling gear on the rotating shaft and a two position meshing idlergear, said gears adapted to grip two strands of tape therebetween, feedthe tape therebeyond and adhere the tacky surfaces of the tape togetherby squeezing the tape between the intermeshing gear surfaces, saidintermeshing gears being cylindrical and having parallel axes.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the short cycle power means includesa reversible air motor; connecting linkage connecting said reversibleair motor to said powered rotating shaft, said connecting linkageincluding a first one-way clutch adjacent to said motor for driving saidshaft to pull the tape through the apparatus and a second one-way clutchreversed to said first one-way clutch to break the driving linkage sothe shaft will not reverse when the motor reverses to reposition thefirst one-way clutch for the next synchronous driving engagement; andthe switch in operating engagement with the indexing trigger is an airswitch and switches the air to "said air motor from one circuit toanother circuit to sequentially reverse the direction of said motor inresponse to the actuation of said trigger when the trigger is engagedand released by the lead bag in the chain of imbricated bags.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein a tray is mounted on said frame forreceipt within an open bag in the loading position, said tray havingexpanding side arms that separate into firm engagement with sides of thebag when an item is injected into the bag passing between them, the

- tray being reciprocally mounted on the frame, the expanding side armsof said tray are resilient and form a resilient forward end of reducedcross section on said tray for aiding in inserting items into the bagson its inward stroke, the tray being reloaded on its outward stroke; amoveable gate opening and closing the inlet of the air blower; an aircylinder connected to said moveable gate for opening and closing saidgate; a tray actuated air switch mounted on said frame in the path ofsaid reciprocating tray on its forward motion for activating anddeactivating said cylinder to open and close said gate when said tray isreciprocated; and the dropping mechanism includes an air cylinder forclosing and retaining said support table and tape pulling unit in closedposition and a lever for releasing the air from said cylinder foropening said table and admitting air to said cylinder for closing saidtable.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the stationary smooth surfacedsupport is a table defining a bag support opening and loading position;the support table and tape puller are assembled into an integral unitwhich is pivotally mounted on the frame, said support table having anisosceles triangle shape with the base side of the triangle orientedforward and tapering rearwardly, said indexing trigger is a resilientblade projecting through and extending above the forward edge of saidsupport table; a trigger guard is attached to said support table andtape puller unit and extends in front of and over said trigger toprevent an article passing over said trigger from its front coming intocontact with said trigger; the air blower is electrically powered andmounted on the frame below the tray; an air chute is in air streamengagement with the outlet of said blower and oriented to direct the airfrom the blower against the forward edge of a bag engaged by saidtrigger at the forward edge of said support table in the loadingposition to inflate the bag; a plurality of bridging bars are securedacross the upper opening in said chute to protect said chute againstparticles falling therein during the loading of the bags; and a droppingmechanism is connected to said frame and said support table and tapepulling unit and pivots said unit rearwardly for reloading the machinewith a new chain of imbricated bags.

7. A bag feeding, opening and filling apparatus for feeding a continuouschain of imbricated bags sequentially into a loading position,sequentially opening the bags and filling the bags comprising a frame; abag conveyor including a powered rotating shaft, said bag conveyorconnected to said frame; a short cycle power means connected to saidpowered rotating shaft and driving said shaft in one directionsequentially; means preventing the reverse movement of said shaftsequentially when said shaft is not being rotated in said one direction;an indexing trigger connected to said frame and projecting onto the pathof the lead bag of said chain imbricated bags; a switch in operatingengagement with said trigger and said power means to cycle said powermeans to index said bags in a loading position when the trigger isengaged and released by the lead bag in the chain of imbricated bags; anair blower in air stream engagement with the forward edge of a bagengaged by said trigger at said loading position to inflate the leadbag.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein a stationary support defines theloading position, said stationary support is a table defining a bagsupport, opening and loading position, and said table has a smoothsupport surface and an isosceles triangle shape with the base side ofthe triangle oriented forward and tapering rearwardly, wherein a tray ismounted on said frame for receipt within an open bag in said loadingposition, said tray having expanding side arms that separate into firmengagement with the sides of the bag when an item is injected into thebag passing between them.

9. A bag feeding, opening and filling apparatus for feeding a continuouschain of imbricated bags sequentially into a loading position,sequentially opening the bags and filling the opened bags, suchapparatus comprising a bag loading station, means for sequentially andperiodically conveying a chain of imbricated bags to the bag loadingstation, a signal producing means located in the path of the lead bag ofthe chain of imbricated bags at the loading station, the signalproducing means co-operating with the means for conveying the chain ofimbricated bags in use on the apparatus to index the bags at the loadingstation when the signal producing means is engaged and released by thelead bag of the chain of imbricated bags.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the bag loading station includes astationary support table defining a bag support, opening and loadingposition; and a tray is reclprocany moul'lifid o 9 3 ov r at least aportion of said 20 stationary support for receipt within an open bag insaid loading station said tray having expanding side arms that separateinto firm engagement with the sides of the bag when an item is injectedinto the bag passing between them.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein a tray is stationarily mountedadjacent to said loading station, said tray having a resilient forwardend of reduced cross section, said resilient forward end including atleast two op posite side arms on the respective sides of said tray, thelower outer edges of said side arms having surfaces curved outwardly sothe bags upper side when engaged by said curved surface and forcedupwardly will be cammed outwardly and upwardly over said arms toencompass the arms therein and said tray extending into the loadingstation a suflicient distance to be so received within an open bag atsaid loading station.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the bag loading station includes asupport table defining a bag support, opening and loading position, saidsupport table having a triangular shape with the base of the triangleoriented forward and tapering rearwardly to a rounded end so the chainof imbricated bags will be drawn over the rounded end of the supporttable toward the base.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the bag loading station includes astationary support table defining a bag support, opening and loadingposition; and a bag opening means is stationarily mounted adjacent tosaid support table, said bag opening means including an air blowermounted below the upper surface of said support table and driven by anelectric motor, an air chute in air stream engagement with the outlet ofsaid blower and oriented to direct the air from the blower against theopen edge of a bag on said support table in the loading position toinflate the bag.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein an apparatus is provided forfeeding, opening and filling a chain of imbricated bags supported on atleast two strands of tape and wherein the loading station is a tablemember; the means for sequentially and periodically conveying the chainof imbricated bags includes a tape puller, said tape puller being spacedbelow said table member and there are two guide members that receive thetape and provide respective changes in its movement orientation betweensaid table member and said tape puller.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the loading statron is a stationarysupport table having a downwardly curved forward edge; the means forconveying the chain of imbricated bags is a tape puller positioned belowthe curved edge of said support table and the tape puller includes apowered pulling gear on a rotating shaft and a two position meshingidler gear, said intermeshing gears being cylindrical and havingparallel axes that project forward and lie in a plane parallel to thegeneral plane of said support table; and a means supporting said idlergear and moving said idler gear between its meshing and open positions.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein an apparatus s provided forfeeding, opening and filling a chain of imbricated bags supported on atleast two strands of tape and wherein there are two parallel idler guideand orientatron wheels positioned below the curved edge of said supporttable and above said intermeshing gears with their axes parallel to theaxis of said intermeshing gears, said wheels serving to provide a twistin the tape as it is pulled down over the forward edge of said supporttable to orient the tape for passage into the meshing driven and idlergears; said stationary support table, tape puller and two parallel idlerguide and orientation wheels being assembled into an integral unit.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said integral unit includes anormally closed switch that is opened in response to the signal fromsaid signal producing means sensing a bag at the loading station andrecloses in re- 21 sponse to the signal from said signal producing meansthat said bag has been removed from the loading station.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein a bag opening means isstationarily mounted adjacent to said support table, said bag openingmeans including an air blower mounted below the upper surface of saidsupport table and driven by an electric motor; and an air chute in airstream engagement with the outlet of said blower and oriented to directthe air from the blower against the open edge of a bag on said supporttable in the loading position to inflate the bag; and a set of alignedguide rollers is mounted on a frame, adjacent to and extending from saidsupport table opposite said bag opening means for directing, orientingand guiding the chain of imbricated bags toward the loading position.

19. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the means for conveying the chainof imbricated bags includes a terminal coupling member and a power meansconnected to said terminal coupling member; and a spool, said spoolhaving a coupling coupled to said terminal coupling member whereby saidpower means can rotate said spool through said coupling; and at leastone long strand of tape having one end attached to said spool wherebythe imbricated bags may be conveyed with each bag flattened with twooverlying sides and having one side secured to said tape.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the spool is inside of thecartridge housing, the housing exposing the spools coupling for couplingwith the terminal coupling member for rotation of the spool by the powermeans; holding means is in said apparatus holding said cartridge housingagainst rotation; a passageway is formed in said cartridge housingopening to said spool; there are at least two long strands of said tapeand said strands pass into said cartridge housing through saidpassageway; each bag of said plurality of bags is identical, having oneside secured to both of said tapes, its open end oriented in the samedirection respecting said tapes as all of the other bags and facingalong said tapes toward said cartridge housing.

21. A bag feeding, opening and filling apparatus for feeding acontinuous series of bags sequentially into a loading position,sequentially opening the bags and filling the bags comprising a frame; abag loading position adjacent to said frame; a tray reciprocally mountedon said frame for receipt within an open bag in said loading position onthe trays inward stroke, the tray being reloaded on its outward stroke,said tray having expanding side arms that separate into firm engagementwith the sides of the bag when an item is injected into the bag passingbetween them; air impelling means for opening the bag in the loadingposition in air stream engagement with the forward edge of a bag in theloading position; means for shutting off the air stream engagement withthe forward edge of a bag in the loading position; a tray actuatedswitching means in the path of said reciprocating tray on its inwardmovement for activating and deactivating said means for shutting off theair stream engagement with the forward edge of a bag in the loadingposition when said tray is reciprocated.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the expanding side arms of saidtray are resilient and form a resilient forward end of reduced crosssection on said tray for aiding in inserting items into the bags on thetrays inward stroke; the means for impelling air for opening the bag inthe loading position is an air blower in air stream engagement with theforward edge of a bag in the loading position; and the means forshutting olf the air stream engagement with the forward edge of the bagincludes a moveable gate opening and closing the inlet of the airblower.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,667,997 2/154 Vogt 53187X3,228,173 l/1966 Reynolds 53385 3,328,939 7/1967 Harris et a1 533853,331,182 7/1967 Hannon 53385X 3,358,414 12/1967 Hersh ct a1. 53385XTRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

